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Scams and swindles

Scams and swindles
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Scams and swindles. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
A number of psychiatric hospitals in central China have been exposed for luring healthy people to pose as mental patients in a scheme to defraud medical insurance. Photo: SCMP composite/Weibo/Douyin
Trending in China

Public fury as China mental hospitals recruit fake patients for insurance scam

‘Healthy’ so-called patients lured into psychiatric facilities with promise of long, cheap stay; receive little treatment, face ‘beatings’.

Crime in Hong Kong

‘Unforgivable’: police chief slams lawyer, doctors linked to crash-for-cash scams

China-Latin America relations

Brazil breaks up China-linked US$190m money-laundering ring tied to crime gang

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France

9 arrested over Louvre ticket fraud scheme involving Chinese tourists

The world-famous museum says it lost nearly US$12 million over the past decade as the result of tickets being reused for different visitors.

Tourists near the Louvre Pyramid in Paris. Photo: AFP
Human trafficking

More Southeast Asian human trafficking gangs use crypto to move illegal funds

The transactions are linked to activities such as forced labour recruited by scammers and international escort services, a report says.

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Crime in China

China’s Nanjing Museum scandal probe uncovers historic mismanagement, corruption

Museum admits to ‘systemic problems’, pledges reform after ‘severe’ damage caused to image of cultural and museum industry.

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Southeast Asia forced-labour scams

Easier, faster, cheaper: how AI is revolutionising Southeast Asia’s scam hubs

Technology is enabling gangs to target more victims efficiently and expand operations as governments struggle to tackle evolving cybercrime.

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Counterfeit US dollar banknotes on the floor inside a scam compound in Samraong, Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey province. Photo: Reuters
Cambodia

Opinion | Cambodia is in a frontline battle against transnational scam syndicates

Targeted due to geography, Cambodia is on the front foot now, dismantling scam compounds, rescuing victims and prosecuting criminals.

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Cryptocurrency

Scams and outflows: why China slammed the door on real-world asset tokens

Beijing’s clampdown aims to help safeguard financial security and monetary sovereignty while leaving room for regulated fintech innovation in Hong Kong.

Myanmar

Video | Scam centre members apologise in broadcast confession

Core members of the Myanmar-based telecoms fraud syndicate Ming Zhenzhen and Bai Yingcang apologised for causing harm to Chinese citizens.

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Trending in China

Assistant of successful China influencer steals identities, earns US$158,000 in tips

Identity thief steals fashion content creator’s photographs; wears her pyjamas, stockings to stage lucrative live-streaming sessions.

A Chinese influencer with three million followers has accused her assistant of using her password to access her home, wearing her clothes for photographs and using artificial intelligence to insert her image into her content. Photo: SCMP composite/Shutterstock/RedNote
Trending in China

China women pay for ‘companions’ in role-playing games, spark love debate

Sociologists suggest that many Chinese women view role-playing games as a safe, low-risk opportunity to ‘rehearse romance’.

Cambodia

Scripts, bank details and military rules: Cambodian scam compound secrets

Mostly run by Chinese criminal gangs and staffed partly by trafficking victims, these complexes have proliferated across Indochina.

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Crime in Hong Kong

Hongkongers lost HK$350 million in online shopping scams in first 11 months of 2025

Police say about 63 per cent of cases between January and November last year involved bogus concert ticket sales.

Authorities plan to set up education efforts to educate young people about online shopping scams. Photo: Getty Images
Crime in Hong Kong

Hong Kong man jailed for laundering millions through scam-linked bank accounts

Court hands down stiff sentence to deter growing abuse of personal bank accounts.

The 38-year-old defendant was sentenced to 44 months’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to two counts of money laundering at the District Court in Wan Chai. Photo: Jelly Tse
Crime

Video | Fake police station and uniforms found in Cambodian scam centre

Fake law enforcement uniforms with markings from several jurisdictions, including China and Singapore, were found along with mock police stations apparently used to intimidate victims.

Crime in Hong Kong

Police arrest 4 in Hong Kong over ‘crash-for-cash’ scams

Married couple and two doctors detained on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud.

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Crime in Hong Kong

Video | Hongkongers scammed out of millions on Carousell

Police say more than 110 cases of scams connected to popular online shopping platform took place over a week-long period in late January.

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South Korea

‘Ruin you’: Cambodians outraged by South Korean president’s anti-scam threat

Critics said Lee Jae Myung should have posted in Chinese, not Khmer, as his warning to foreign syndicates sparked anger across Cambodia.

Myanmar

Video | 4 more telecoms fraud gang members executed in China

Members of the Bai family syndicate were convicted of telecoms fraud, murder and drug trafficking.

Cambodia

Inside an abandoned Cambodian scam centre seized by Thai troops

Fake law enforcement uniforms from nations including China and Singapore were found alongside mock police sets used to intimidate victims.

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A room set up to imitate a Chinese police station pictured on Monday inside the O’Smach compound near the Cambodia-Thailand border. Photo: Reuters
Crime in China

China moves to boost cybercrime penalties by adding exit ban after sentences

Amid cross-border crackdown, draft Cybercrime Prevention and Control Law bill lists exit bans among tools to punish cybercriminals.

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A draft bill announced by China’s public security ministry aims to impose an exit ban on Chinese found guilty of cross-border online crimes for up to three years after serving their sentence. Photo: Shutterstock
Crime in Hong Kong

Hong Kong police arrest hundreds in HK$620 million fraud, laundering crackdown

Operations target misuse of bank accounts, romance scams and money laundering through virtual currencies.

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Indonesia

Interpol issues red notice for Indonesian oil tycoon in US$285 million scandal

Mohammad Riza Chalid is wanted in Indonesia for his alleged involvement in corruption at state-owned oil company Pertamina.

China-Asean relations

Nearly 1,800 Chinese among thousands held as Cambodian police raid scam compound

Action ‘truly reflects’ that Cambodian government will never loosen crackdowns on online scammers, interior ministry spokesman says.

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Apprehended suspects are lined up on the ground following a massive raid on a scam compound in Bavet city, southeastern Cambodia. Photo: Handout
Crime in Hong Kong

Hong Kong road accident scam reports double to over 70 in a week: Chris Tang

Some incidents involved minor bumps or even no collision, with the largest claim exceeding HK$800,000, police say.

Police had appealed to the public to report suspected traffic scams. Photo: Eugene Lee
Crime in Hong Kong

33 arrested over HK$150 million fraud involving Hong Kong tech grant schemes

ICAC says suspects are 24 men and nine women, including a former Cyberport Management Company employee.

Myanmar

Video | China executes 11 members of telecoms syndicate

Members of the Ming family crime syndicate found guilty of murder, illegal detention, running casinos and other offences.

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